Ferdinand won't accept Man Utd contract charity

Ferdinand is 34 in November and only has this season left on his contract.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, has said he will be offered a one-year rolling deal after that, which the player is comfortable with.

Ferdinand told The Sun: "Nothing has happened yet and I don't see it happening until at least after January because that is the way the manager works. I am not a special case because I am Rio Ferdinand. Hopefully the manager pulls me aside and says 'I want you to continue playing here' because I love playing for this club and love being here.

"We always get challenges at United, that's been the case since before I arrived. Now, the challenge is City and we have to rise to that."